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In the Gospels the Lord Jesus Himself had announced the gospel of the kingdom (Luke 4:43):
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The kingdom of God is the Savior as the seed of life sown into His believers, God's chosen people, and developing into a realm over which God can rule as His kingdom in His divine life (17:21; Mark 4:3, 26).
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The entrance into the kingdom of God is regeneration, and the development of the kingdom is the believers' growth in the divine life (John 3:5; 2 Pet. 1:3-11).
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The kingdom of God is the church life today, in which the faithful believers live, and it will develop into the coming kingdom as a reward to be inherited by the overcoming saints in the millennium (Rom. 14:17; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 20:4, 6).
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Eventually, the kingdom of God will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the eternal kingdom of God, an eternal realm of the eternal blessing of God's eternal life, which all of God's redeemed will enjoy in the new heaven and new earth for eternity (21:1-4; 22:1-5, 14).
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The kingdom of God is what the Savior announced as the gospel, the good news, to those who were alienated from the life of God (Eph. 4:18).
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The Lord's word in Luke 17:20-21 indicates that the kingdom of God is not material but spiritual; it is the Savior in His first coming (vv. 21-22), in His second coming (vv. 23-30), in the rapture of His overcoming believers (vv. 31-36), and in His destroying of the Antichrist (v. 37) to recover the whole earth for His reign there (Rev. 11:15).
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The kingdom of God is the Savior Himself, who was in the midst of the Pharisees but who is now within the believers (Luke 17:21; 2 Cor. 13:5; Col. 1:27):
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Wherever the Savior is, there the kingdom of God is; the kingdom of God is with Him, and He brings it to His disciples (Luke 4:43; 17:21).
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Christ is the seed of the kingdom of God to be sown into God's chosen people to develop into God's ruling realm (8:5, 10).
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Since His resurrection He has been within His believers; hence, the kingdom of God is within the church (John 14:20; Rom. 8:10; 14:17).
Morning Nourishment
Luke 17:20-21 And when He was questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, Behold, here it is! or, There! For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.To announce the gospel of the kingdom of God is to preach the kingdom of God as the gospel, the good news. (Luke 4:43, footnote 1)
The kingdom of God is the Savior (see footnote 1 on Luke 17:21) as the seed of life sown into His believers, God's chosen people (Mark 4:3, 26), and developing into a realm over which God can rule as His kingdom in His divine life. (Luke 4:43, footnote 2)
Today's Reading
The entrance into the kingdom is regeneration (John 3:5), and the development of the kingdom is the believers' growth in the divine life (2 Pet. 1:3-11). The kingdom is the church life today, in which the faithful believers live (Rom. 14:17), and it will develop into the coming kingdom as a reward to be inherited (Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5) by the overcoming saints in the millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6). Eventually, it will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the eternal kingdom of God, an eternal realm of the eternal blessing of God's eternal life, which all God's redeemed will enjoy in the new heaven and new earth for eternity—Rev. 21:1-4; 22:1-5, 14....Such a kingdom, the kingdom of God, is what the Savior announced [in Luke 4] as the gospel, the good news, to those who were alienated from the life of God (Eph. 4:18). (Luke 4:43, footnote 2)The Lord's answer [in Luke 17:20-21] to the question raised by the Pharisees concerning the kingdom of God indicates that the kingdom of God is not material but spiritual. It is the Savior in His first coming (vv. 21-22), in His second coming (vv. 23-30), in the rapture of His overcoming believers (vv. 31-36), and in His destroying of the Antichrist (v. 37) to recover the whole earth for His reign there (Rev. 11:15).
Luke 17:22 through 24 prove that the kingdom of God is the Savior Himself, who was among the Pharisees when He was asked by them regarding the kingdom. Wherever the Savior is, there is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is with Him, and He brings it to His disciples (v. 22). He is the seed of the kingdom of God to be sown into God's chosen people to develop into God's ruling realm. Since His resurrection, He is within His believers (John 14:20; Rom. 8:10). Hence, the kingdom of God is within the church today (Rom. 14:17).
In Luke 17:21 the Lord said to the Pharisees, "Behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." The word you here refers to the questioning Pharisees (v. 20). The Savior as the kingdom of God was not within them; He was only in the midst of them.
When the Pharisees questioned the Lord about the coming of the kingdom of God, He answered that the kingdom of God does not come with observation. This means that the kingdom of God is not visible or observable. Rather, the kingdom of God is invisible; it is something that cannot be seen with physical eyes.
In the Lord's answer to the Pharisees, there is a strong indication that the kingdom of God is actually the Savior Himself. The Lord seems to be saying to them, "You cannot see the kingdom of God, but right now it is among you. Although the kingdom of God is here now, you do not have the spiritual perception to see it. You need spiritual eyes to see spiritual things, to see the kingdom of God. Actually, this kingdom is a wonderful person. With your physical eyes you can see the material existence of this person. But you do not have spiritual sight to perceive His spiritual reality. The spiritual reality of this person is actually the kingdom of God. Therefore, I say that the kingdom of God is now here among you. You, however, cannot perceive this spiritual reality." (Life-study of Luke, pp. 330-331)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 241